Beanie
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2011
- Messages
- 249
- Points
- 43
It might be the last ever Eurovision thread on Betnod, and who knows, if the boycotts keep up it could be the last ever Eurovision too!
Graham Norton will raise a glass to Terry Wogan during song 9, but I'll be raising one to Komp, Mickey and Slick
Five countries have pulled out over Israel's inclusion - Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain. Ireland and Spain are the headline names; Spain were one of the Big Five, so we're effectively down to a Big Four this year. That leaves just 35 countries competing, the smallest field since 2003.
Voting changes: there are a few, largely in response to the Israel controversy from recent years. Semi-finals go back to a combined jury/televote to determine qualifiers (televote-only was scrapped). Juries are expanded from five to seven members, with a youth quota baked in. And the cap on votes per payment method drops from 20 to 10 - so mass-voting campaigns get harder to run. There's also new language explicitly discouraging government-backed voting pushes.
Schedule: Semi 1 on the 12th, Semi 2 on the 14th, Final on the 16th.
Rehearsals: Start today!
More to come on the entries and odds. Following San Marino @ 40/1 in 2025 and Norway at 30/1 in 2024, can we nail the last place market at long odds for the 3rd year in a row?
Graham Norton will raise a glass to Terry Wogan during song 9, but I'll be raising one to Komp, Mickey and Slick
Five countries have pulled out over Israel's inclusion - Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain. Ireland and Spain are the headline names; Spain were one of the Big Five, so we're effectively down to a Big Four this year. That leaves just 35 countries competing, the smallest field since 2003.
Voting changes: there are a few, largely in response to the Israel controversy from recent years. Semi-finals go back to a combined jury/televote to determine qualifiers (televote-only was scrapped). Juries are expanded from five to seven members, with a youth quota baked in. And the cap on votes per payment method drops from 20 to 10 - so mass-voting campaigns get harder to run. There's also new language explicitly discouraging government-backed voting pushes.
Schedule: Semi 1 on the 12th, Semi 2 on the 14th, Final on the 16th.
Rehearsals: Start today!
More to come on the entries and odds. Following San Marino @ 40/1 in 2025 and Norway at 30/1 in 2024, can we nail the last place market at long odds for the 3rd year in a row?